Bordeaux en primeur 2022 diary: day 2 – the march up the Médoc
The grand frontage of Château Cos d’Estournel
En primeur week is a tiring affair, not just in the sense that the days are long and spent driving from one Château to the other, usually behind schedule, but because for palates and concentration levels, tasting barrel samples of tannic, nascent wine can be challenging, especially when you approach your one hundredth wine of the day.
I can therefore pay the 2022 vintage no higher compliment than to say that today was a joy to taste, regardless of the appellation or blue bloodedness (or lack of it) of the properties we visited. Continuing from the picture we’ve begun to paint after day one spent largely in Pessac and Graves, it is clear now that 2022 at its apex is a vintage or ripe fruit, sensuous tannins, and surprising acidity. Like anything there will be the occasional wine that errs on any one of those points, but a uniform picture has emerged. That picture can tell us a lot about how the vintage will develop going forward and it strikes me that except in the case of the most monumental wines of the vintage, these bottles will give much pleasure, much earlier on than in other vintages, without losing the sense of structure and impact that they will likely continue to offer for decades to come.
One of the things that whoever is presenting a wine to you loves to do is to compare this vintage to other vintages, to give you an idea of how it might turn out. It is notable that across the appellations of Bordeaux so far, a wide range of vintages have been espoused as stable mates to 2022, including but not limited to 2011, 2009, 2005 and, most amusingly, the 1870 vintage…! The wines we tasted today will vary wildly in their drinking windows depending on the balance of grape varieties and their specific locations, but they will all offer real vinous joy and will make wonderful purchases, from the everyday cru bourgeois all the way up to the First Growths.
The mezzanine at Château Beychevelle which overlooks the vines
Our day began early at Beychevelle, a real stalwart for Clos clients over the years and a claret perpetually loved by British drinkers: the 2022 is no exception with “mouth filling fruit, tons of acidity and a persistent finish: 94-96+ points”. We then moved to the Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux Saint-Julien tasting in the Beychevelle chais, which much like the tasting in the morning of day one allows many producers to show their wines conveniently under one roof. Wines that stood out included Fourcas Hosten (“really ripe fruit and good minerality on the finish” 91-93+ points) and Chasse Spleen (“this is a real triumph in 2022” 93-94+ points).
The 2022 vintage lying in barrel at Château Talbot
After a stop at Talbot (“the finish has a light hint of spice, inky fruit and driven acidity: very good indeed” 93-95 points) we headed to Ducru Beaucaillou whose Grand Vin was showing exceptionally in this vintage (94-96+ points). Our next stop is always one of the highlights of en primeur and 2022 was no different: Château Pontet Canet. It was of the first major Châteaux to convert to full biodynamics which include among other things, shire horses tilling the earth and a natural sunscreen which was sprayed onto the grapes during extreme heat in 2022. For me, Pontet Canet had absolutely everything a top wine needs, an intoxicating perfume, sensuous mouthfeel, and a profound, persistent finish (97-99+ points). After tasting we were treated to lunch at the Château, always a highlight of en primeur week, with the food utterly delicious and served alongside Pontet Canet 2016 which took my breath away! Arguably the finest cheese table in France ensured that we were well fuelled for the afternoon ahead!
Our next visit was to Château Tronquoy (92-94+ points) to taste its wine alongside Montrose which was outstanding and my first potentially perfect score of the day (acidity is excellent, there is sublime, mineral, crystalline structure, depth of fruit and purity & precision on the long, exciting finish” 98-100 points). A note too for the second wine, La Dame de Montrose which I thought was excellent in this vintage, particularly for a second wine: it will deliver enormous pleasure for the price (93-95 points). After a trip to Phelan Segur in Saint-Estephe (93-96+ points) we tasted Mouton Rothschild (98-100 points), which was unsurprisingly a total triumph. At this point in the day tasting fatigue can be a real pitfall and with a wine as huge as this year’s Mouton, a couple of samples and the benefit of ten minutes was needed before the wine began to shed its layers.
Our journey then took us back to Saint-Estephe to visit Cos d’Estournel and its impressive, orient-themed tasting room. Whilst all the wines in the stable impressed, it was Cos d’Estournel itself which blew me away – a wine of enormous weight, structure and impact, but which somehow also manged to wear its layers lightly, with supreme elegance and freshness on the palate. Cos, although always impressive, is often one of the biggest, most alcoholic wines during en primeur and so I was pleasantly surprised to find a wine which was imbued with such freshness and deftness of touch (“Exceptional” 98-100 points).
A line up of bottle sizes at Château Cos d’Eastournel
As our day finished, I counted four potentially perfect scores on day two, with the Médoc really impressing. I am usually a tough scorer but it was extremely difficult to find fault with many of the wines tasted today, though I imagine the professional critics will identify any egregious missteps by producers in 2022. As I went back though my tasting notes for the day, I wondered if perhaps I was being too generous, but then I realised I could immediately recount the taste and texture of those potentially perfect wines. When buying wine en primeur we want to secure wines which leave a lasting impression on the eventual drinker, and I am certain that Pontet Canet, Montrose, Mouton Rothschild and Cos d'Estournel will all do that in the years to come.
As my day of tasting ended, I headed to Montrose for their Roots to Light evening, a celebratory event to usher in the vintage and, most excitingly, their first white wine, which we were the first to taste. I bumped into Grant Ashton, the founder of 67 Pall Mall who talked to me about their exciting plans for expansion across the world, and the wines he has enjoyed tasting most during his time in Bordeaux. We were fortunate to then be served the 2009 and 2016 vintages of Château Montrose, with both a delight to taste. Then, as the rain began coming down, I headed back to the City centre to prepare for a day of tasting in Saint-Emilion on day three.